


Swimming Lessons

by ThisShipHasSailed



Category: The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: ASL, Fishy Man, Fluff, Learning to Swim, Near Drowning, Other, Sign Language, Usuage Of ASL, Very fluffy, monster/human, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-07 00:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11612349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisShipHasSailed/pseuds/ThisShipHasSailed
Summary: When Elisa nearly drowns in the tank, the scientists' experiment decides to teach her to swim.Based off of the "The Shape Of Water" 2017 movie.





	Swimming Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> All phrases being contained by quotes are being "spoken" in sign language. There is one occurrence where that rule does not apply.
> 
> Enjoy!

Cold seeped into her bones like edges of broken glass. Sharp pain pierced her skin like little pin-pricks. The water pressure pushed down on her, making her head pound. Holding her head towards the fading light above, she choked out a scream beneath the water’s unforgiving grip. She reached for the surface with determination, but with every stroke she attempted she became weaker and weaker. 

She was going to die. Elisa was going to die and she couldn’t do anything about it except struggle against the current. Air bubbled up from her mouth and the pain that was soaking into her bones crept towards her chest. It felt like something heavy binded her, as if someone was giving her one of the most tightest hugs in her life.  It pressed against her until all she could feel was a blankness. Her heart beat erratically against her ribcage. Elisa stopped her struggling when the hope of making it to the surface left like the oxygen that escaped her lungs. 

Her movements became slower and she clenched her eyes shut. The water suddenly felt like a warm blanket around her. The current calmed for just a moment and at that moment she was fine. But as she inhaled water rushed into her lungs once before and she attempted to cough. It was pain. The water that was made for her to live was the cause of her death.

With that, she sunk to the bottom. It wasn’t extremely deep nor was it bright. It was dark, everything around her vision expressing itself as huge shadows that followed slow circles and lines. They became fuzzier and fuzzier and her world continued to warm. The light of bulbs from above shimmered softly and Elisa felt hopelessness well up in her chest. She couldn’t end like this, could she? 

A faint glimmer of a shadow crossed her fading sight. It was death, Elisa thought with disdain. This was not at all what she wanted. But how stupid could one be to take this job and not know how to swim? Too close to the edge and she had fallen in and sunk like a stone. Tentative fingertips traced her arms and she faintly recognized it as her imagination playing with her. How horrible was this? But she was quick to accept it. She didn’t know what death looked like, after all. 

But death’s fingers grasped her arms tightly and pulled her against a cold, reptilian body. She faintly felt the water rushing past her. Was Elisa going to heaven? Was she dead? Or was she still dying? It felt like she was on laughing gas; like that feeling of floating. 

The pain of her chest tripled when she was broken from the water. Everything was still dark as she felt something faintly pounding on her breasts and ribs. She felt like she was choking on her own breath. Watery breath filled her lungs but then rushed to her throat and she was suddenly vomiting everything up. 

Trembling on thin arms, Elisa grasped the stone steps of the enclosure. The water was a few feet away. It looked dark, almost as if the hatred of it before was cross with losing its victim. Flopping away from the substances she had just vomited up, Elisa greedily gulped down oxygen. It felt so good to breath air instead of villainous water. A soft keen aroused the space around the two, breaking the silence and heavy breathes. Elisa opened her eyes tiredly. Rolling over and crouching on the step, she watched as her savior swam nervously in place. He floated there, half of his head above the water to where his eyes watched her with such emotion that she swore he was more human than not.

Sitting up, she slowly signed toward him a thank you. His eyes, the shade of emeralds, followed her hands before flicking his eyes to her face. His face slowly rose from the surface before broad shoulders and a bit of his chest became visible. Elisa stayed quiet, her hands frozen in front of her chest. 

His body was covered in dark colors. There were greens and shaded blues and dark brown that encroached on black. His fins fluttered with a soft yellow that followed to a light green at the tips. Scales enclosed his form, forming a protective sheath over sensitive flesh beneath. Her eyes roamed over healing scars and her heart lurched painfully at the knowledge of them. There were burns from the jabbing shock treatments the scientists would experiment on him. Everything they did seemed out of enjoyment, and that made her grow sick. Her gaze traced the thick collar around his neck and she desperately wished she could save him the way he did for her.

Something resembling a smile flashed across his face and Elisa bit on her lip. Droplets of water fell against her face as the fishman approached cautiously. She sat up just a little, watching as he swept through the water before resting on the small platform. They sat there together for a few moments, staring at each other before his hands started to move.

She caught just a few words. "Teach", "life", and "you" was what she understood. She pursed her lips, looking down towards the water. What was he trying to say? His hands started to move in the same motions before taking a step back.

She watched him for a bit longer, trying to decipher what the creature was trying to bring across. Life? Teaching life? Wait, was he…?

He waved his hands at her, motioning for her to come into the water. Eyes widening with shock, she opened her mouth. Silence came from her, and she quickly signed to him before remembering that he was still learning how to use ASL.

"I can’t or I’ll drown." The fins flicked against his face with something resembling annoyance and he signed back to her. "Teach… teach you. Now?"

Oh, so that’s what he wanted to do. Her savior; the fishman; the experiment, wanted to teach her to swim. But what if someone walked in on them? She could get into major trouble talking to the creature, much less actually getting into the pool. But then again, she could have drowned and nobody was around to see. 

Turning towards the clock she checked the time.There was roughly an hour before the rest of the crew rejoined her. She had had overnight cleaning, after all. But what the scientist said to her about the creature rang in her head.

“He isn’t a human, Elisa. He is a monster; an animal. Do you think he has feelings? That he was made in the lord’s image? He is a creature and will hurt you if you get too close.” 

What if he was wrong, though? He had saved her from the water’s icy grasp. And the thing was, he hadn’t needed to! The fishman had made a decision to help her and even went to pounding on her chest to make her cough up the water. 

For once in Elisa’s life, she threw caution into the wind. If this fishman wanted to hurt her, he could have torn her apart down in the water.

What about my clothes? She asked herself, frowning as she looked down at herself. Her outfit was completely soaked, and she was still shivering slightly. Would she be able to swim in that chilled water? 

Well, as long as she kept an eye on the clock and hung up her clothes somewhere to dry…

After doing so and hanging her clothes, Elisa nervously touched her toes into the water. She merely had a bra and her underwear on. Her cheeks felt red and her body warm, unlike the water. She stood at the platform, the water gently licking at her toes.

Across from her, her savior swam back and forth almost excitedly before meeting her at the platform. He took a moment to observe her new form without clothes. Elisa held her breath as he sniffed at her, the room suddenly silent. Webbed hands gently touched her waist and she jumped at how cold his flesh was. 

He pulled back and began to sign. "You are soft and warm? Unlike I." Elisa smiled softly before sitting down on the platform. The water was cold, but she was slowly getting used to it’s soft jabs of numbness. 

"Yes, unlike you. I am a human and quite warm-blooded." She answered back, making sure to slow her pace to make sure he caught all of it. A soft purr surprised her before a hand gently took her wrist.  "Teach." He signed with his free hand. Elisa swallowed and hesitantly scooted to the platform’s edge. Was she really doing this? Could she trust him? A wave of fear settled within her belly. What if he hurt her? She could only imagine him holding her beneath the surface, as if playing with prey.

His hand loosened around her wrist before sliding down to meet her hand. She felt the webbing between his fingers against her fingertips and she looked down at his hand. But his signing took her attention.

"I will not hurt you." Elisa debated internally with herself. She could trust him, couldn’t she? He had saved her, for fuck’s sake! Taking a deep breath, she set her hand on his shoulder. It felt cold and slightly slimy beneath her touch. He opened his mouth slightly before closing it as was not sure how to speak, as did her.

Well, here goes nothing, she thought to herself. Elisa slowly slid off of the platform and felt herself dip beneath the water. Terror ripped at her heart as she felt her grip slip from the fishman’s hand and shoulder and she was suddenly engulfed in black. She struggled against the water but this time, those same hands that had touched her pulled her back to the surface.

Sputtering, she clung tightly to him. She could have drowned just now! Elisa shivered, the panic from before quickly welling up in her throat. She felt like screaming out and thrashing against him, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. But his hold on her tightened to where an arm was wrapped around her waist and another holding her head against his shoulder. His skin felt odd against hers. In the water, he felt slick but slightly warmer than the temperature of the pool. 

She could feel his fins on his face wave back and forth against the side of her head and she sighed deeply. How was she going to swim when she had no idea where to start? The hand that was resting on her head massaged down to the back of her neck before tracing her spine to her lower back. She shivered at the gentle touch, her eyes closing at how calming the feeling was as he repeated the motions.

Surprisingly, the silence was much better than what someone’s words could offer her. The way his body moved easily against hers and against the water was extraordinary, and oddly she felt safe there in this creature’s arms. 

Once he felt that she was calm enough to learn, he held her against his hip before signing to her. "Move your… lower arms…" He looked lost, looking for the word before she corrected him with a strained smile. 

"Move your legs back and forth. Like I." She could feel the strong swish of his own legs going back in forth in the water. Looking down, she studied his movements and saw just how easily he moved below. Holding onto his body like a leech, she started to copy his movements and felt herself becoming more balanced. It was a relief, and a giddy feeling was bubbling up in her belly and chest. 

For the full minute she was swimming in place. Her legs were starting to burn but at least she was being able to not sink to the bottom. She looked down, watching herself move with the water and her eyes crept to his thighs. They were thick and filled with rough scales. His own legs moved with purpose and skill and it appeared like he wasn’t having much trouble staying afloat.

But then again he was a sea monster and closely resembling that of a frog and a fish. He had been living in water his whole life, and the humans had taken him away from his home to experiment on him. Regret and anger churned in her stomach. Elisa desperately wished she could help him but she knew she couldn’t sneak him out without a lot of help.

The movement of his free hand caught her attention and dragged her out of her thoughts. "I will let you go now. Move your… your arms back and forth on the surface." He gently led her to the side of the platform in case that she lost her balance. His hands were tight against her skin and she couldn’t help the flush that paraded across her flesh. The creature only seemed to huff a soft noise in response to her. 

Focusing on what was at hand, Elisa struck her arms out away from her body. Her heart was suddenly back up in her throat and it took a moment to stabilize herself. Taking a few short breaths, Elisa started to move her hands back and forth.

"Move your legs while moving arms." Elisa didn’t have the focus to correct him on his signing but instead followed his instructions. His hand slid from her waist and the absence had her heart fluttering. But the distraction of that she was actually swimming by herself had her pulling away from her feelings. The same giddy feeling that had cooled itself in her belly came back in full force. 

She was swimming! The moment before, she could have drowned. But look at her now! Thanks to her fishman, of course. She smiled warmly before testing her balance and tried to swim away from the platform. Her arms and legs were starting to tire. She continued, though. This was so new to her and she didn’t want to end this new freedom. The water, now that she thought about it, was easy to maneuver through. It didn’t pull at her like it had before and it definitely wasn’t as cold as she had thought. 

Although now the burning in her thighs and arms was starting to get to her. But Elisa was on a role and she wasn’t up for stopping quite yet. She swam quicker around the enclosure. Her strokes through the water were choppy and ugly, but they were strokes, nonetheless. Once she became prone on the other edge of the pool, she looked over to the fishy man but found that he was not there. Elisa frowned. Where had he gone?

Something slick beneath the water crept up her legs. Eyes going wide, she opened her mouth in an exclamation and launched herself away from what was touching her. A flash of a tentacle monster came across her vision and she nearly screeched. But, she reasoned with herself, it had to be her fishy companion. She was still trying to calm herself down when her head went under and she swallowed a bit of water. Pushing herself above the surface, she started to cough up the water that had slid down her throat. 

A soft whimper sounded behind her and she felt hands once again on her hips. She was instantly balanced. She almost felt embarrassed at how hard it was for her to stay above the water’s surface. And, lord! How he had scared her! 

She was gently pulled against his broad chest and they were moving. Thankfully, the two remained above the surface. His hand was splayed flat against her bare belly, the cartilage from between his fingers fluttered against her flesh as he dragged her through the water. The other was stretched out and guiding them to the platform. He seemed to act slightly bashful with his eyes cast away from her, almost as if he felt slightly guilty for scaring her. Elisa sighed, a hand gently resting on his chest while the other went to his back. She could feel the muscle beneath his flesh clenching and unclenching as he moved.

His hands were suddenly on her hips and he turned her around. Swallowing nervously, Elisa looked up to his eyes. They were the beautiful color of a shaded emerald, flecks of black and gold floating among the iris. Her face was reddening; she was sure of it. He started to learn towards her face and her eyes started to widen. Oh, lord, was he going to…? His fins fluttered warmly and he pressed his forehead against hers. His mouth stayed away from hers, but she found the moment exhilarating and affectionate with slight relief.

They stayed like that for a few moments before he separated and lifted her onto the platform. When his hands were free, he moved to communicate. 

"Teach you more tomorrow?" Elisa smiled, holding her breath and gave an almost excited nod. Her feet swung in the water and he teasingly gripped one of her toes. His other hand ran up the expanse of her foot and slowly up her leg. He never went above her knee, which made her comfortable. She hesitantly reached out, watching to make sure he was not going to try and bite her, and stroked the top of his head. The fins on either side of his head, which held pointy little barbs, were fluttering at the soft touch he was receiving. Elisa never really thought about how affection-starved this poor creature was. 

He pushed his face against her palm, her heart breaking and pulsing with sympathy at the same time. She brushed her thumb against his cheek. Her smile was warm and particularly loving, her eyes speaking in emotion. She wished she could speak to him like an actual human being. But it seemed that he didn’t necessarily mind.  She could feel and hear the purr that rumbled up from his throat as he loosened his grip on her leg. She continued to run her hand over the expanse of his head and stroked the back of his neck, massaging the muscle and skull there. They stayed like that for a few moments.

While she moved away to grab her clothes, he whimpered in a low tone. Elisa shushed him gently, although it only made him swish the water gently with his finned hands. 

"I need to go home, little guppy. I’ll be back tomorrow." She smiled reassuringly. He dipped back into the water to where his face was half hid in the water. He watched her slide her cleaning outfit back on before disappearing completely below the water.

Elisa sighed softly before slipping her shoes on and leaving the room. Her heart stuck there and she could feel the empty desperation that remained in her chest. She wanted to help, but how could she without others in on it?

Freezing, she huffed as she realized that she had forgotten about the mess she had left on the steps. Turning back around, she hurried to grab the mop and bucket before returning to the room. Her eyes drifted across the pool, but the only sign of life were ripples on the surface. Other than that, her friend did not appear. She bit her lip in guilt before getting to work. 

It was gross to clean her own vomit up. The smell wasn’t horrible, thankfully, but it seemed to swish around if there was too much gunk on the mop. She had to constantly rinse it out in the bucket. She kept glancing towards the pool but there was no sign of the sea monster.

It took her a good minute to clean it up before she headed back to the supply room. Dumping the nasty water into the drain, Elisa couldn’t help but stare as it swirled into the hole. Her fishy little friend was so warm and kind to her. Although at times he could become hostile, the moment they had shared just now was so different from how he acted with the others.

Smiling thoughtfully, she walked to the fridge, took an egg and peeled it. Walking back to the chamber with the experiment, Elisa watched the water’s surface. It was how she had left it before with no fishman to see. He seemed so bipolar at times. Sighing softly, she set the egg on the edge of the step highest of them. She peered into the pool but couldn’t see the creature that dwelled beneath the water. At least he would enjoy the snack after she left.

Exiting the building, she looked up at it just once more before making her way home to think about what he’d teach her next.  


End file.
